Real Estate: FIAIP-ENEA report shows growing interest in green homes

The ENEA focus in the FIAIP-ICom Report, which analyses real estate market trends based on surveys of member real estate agents, shows that in 2025, appreciation for the energy efficiency of properties in Italy grew, despite the fact that approximately 75% of residential buildings remain obsolete and inefficient.

According to the ENEA report, nearly 70% of real estate professionals report a need for more advanced valuation tools capable of adequately reflecting the energy efficiency premium of renovated, high-efficiency properties (“green renovations”). At the same time, the lowest-performing energy classes continue to account for the majority of the real estate stock analysed. Buildings in energy classes E, F and G account for approximately 61% of townhouses and up to 71% of studio and three-room apartments, with a trend that remained largely stable compared to 2024.

However, there are some variations in the distribution of sales by type of energy-efficient property: compared to the previous year, transactions involving two-bedroom apartments and single-family homes increased by about 6 percentage points, but with significant differences in location. In fact, in outlying areas, the properties sold mainly fall into the lowest-performing energy classes (E, F, and G) and the share of the most energy-efficient buildings (A and B) barely reaches 5%. In upscale areas, however, the percentage of properties in the highest energy efficiency classes approaches 50%, confirming that energy efficiency is increasingly becoming a factor in enhancing property value.

Real estate agents also note that buyers increasingly view the Energy Performance Certificate (APE) as a useful tool for identifying more energy-efficient homes, although it does not yet play a decisive role in purchasing decisions.

The market appears to be grappling with a clear imbalance: demand shows growing attention to the energy efficiency of properties, while over 54% of sellers still fail to adequately recognize and account for the importance of the energy class when setting the price or preparing the property for sale.

This situation is also linked to the lack of stable, long-term measures and incentives. Green loans and mortgages remain fragmented and little known to buyers, while many banks doubt that the energy renovation market guarantees a sufficient financial return, often creating a vicious cycle that risks stifling investment in energy retrofitting.

The study highlights an increasing impact of energy efficiency on sales prices: 91.44% of industry professionals report an increase in the market value of energy-efficient properties following the Superbonus, a clear indication that could have tangible effects on price trends in the coming years.

Ilaria Bertini, Director of the Energy Efficiency Department at ENEA, attended the presentation of the report to the Senate in Rome.